Now a Reform rabbi and the head of Israel’s Reform movement,
Kariv, 39, has decided on yet another life-altering shift: Just as he went from
secular to religious, and from Orthodox to Reform, he will attempt to move from
the synagogue — the “beit ha-knesset” in Hebrew — to the Knesset, Israel’s
Parliament.

In the Knesset, Kariv would face a formidable
opponent in the solid bloc of Orthodox parties. Labor Knesset member Daniel
Ben-Simon says he’d be happy if Kariv decides to run, as he would present an
alternative to the Orthodox regardless of whether he succeeds in passing
legislation.

“He
needs to make his voice heard and say there are different versions” of Judaism,
Ben-Simon told JTA. “He doesn’t need to change the law. I’d be happy for
another presence here so we can know that the whole world is not Orthodox.”

Rabbi Miri Gold's paycheck looks the same today as it did six
months ago, despite the Israeli attorney general's decision in May stipulating
that Gold and other Reform and Conservative rabbis in certain parts of the country
must receive the same wages as Orthodox rabbis.

I would like to say
in no uncertain language: despite the difficulties we face here, the leaders of
non-Orthodox (and liberal Orthodox) Judaism have many achievements, of which
the entire Jewish world can be proud.

Without
the investment that the non-Orthodox movements abroad have made in creating
supporting their institutions in Israel, there would likely be no Reform or
Conservative synagogues in my area, my children wouldn’t be able to participate
in the NOAM Masorti scouting movement, and there would be no TALI school which educates
children in the spirit of pluralistic Judaism.

Cafe Carousela in
Rehavia is part of the no-certificate-but-kosher trend. Yonatan Vadai, the
manager, formerly ultra-Orthodox, says he keeps all the kashrut laws but
refuses to work with the rabbinate's kashrut supervisors.

After years of setbacks, Jerusalem's secular
population has begun to push back against what many believe are heavy-handed
tactics by the city's ultra-Orthodox residents to impose their religious mores
on the general population. A growing number of restaurants now open on
Saturday, an array of cultural events have sprouted up, and for the first time
in years, a longtime exodus of secular residents for nearby suburbs appears to
have halted.

“It is forbidden for a woman to serve as member of Knesset,
it’s not modest,” the rabbi said. “Public exposure contradicts the Jewish
principle that ‘all the glory of the daughter of a king is internal,’” Aviner
added in comments first published on the Kipa website.

CWJ’s
groundbreaking strategy of “damage claims for get refusal” is proving to be an
increasingly effective tool for battling get refusal in Israel. Last week, we
conducted our first in a series of country-wide seminars aimed at training
family law attorneys in the use of this approach. Carried out in partnership
with the Jerusalem Bar Association, the seminar attracted 35 participants. “I
found the seminar very useful,” said one attendee, reflecting the general
feedback. “It gave me practical tools and a good understanding of the rationale
behind them.” Based on this seminar’s success, the Jerusalem Bar has invited
CWJ to conduct another seminar in spring 2013. Upcoming seminars are also being
planned in coordination with the Tel Aviv and Hadera Bar associations.

The
anti-abortion organization Efrat combines racism, nationalism and chauvinism,
with the result that a woman's womb is expropriated from her and she becomes a
tool in the demographic war over Israel's future.

Corinaldi
said that Israeli society in general has not been welcoming of the anusim.

“They go
through torture here,” he said, “both at the hands of the Interior Ministry and
at the hands of the rabbinate. It’s time the government realized that not every
Jew wants to be Orthodox and that anusim are not foreigners but Jews who want
to return to the fold.”

While it
started out a decade ago with good and timely ideas for bringing Western
immigrants to Israel, the organization has increasingly come to resemble the
complacent Jewish Agency, which it replaced.

An
American immigrant has been named to the list of the newly formed Am Shalem
party headed by former Shas MK Rabbi Chaim Amsalem. But 37-year-old Rabbi Ariel
Konstantyn, the founding spiritual leader of The Tel Aviv Synagogue, says he's
still considering the offer."I have great respect for Rabbi Amsalem and
the work Am Shalem is doing and seeks to accomplish," the New York native
told Anglo File. "However, as of yet, I am undecided as to whether I wish
to enter the political arena at this time."

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto has a seaside villa, loyal followers, including
celebrities and politicians, and a $75 million fortune • But this week he was
arrested for trying to bribe a policeman and his wife attempted suicide •
Shedding light on a mystery man.

Religious
and ultra-Orthodox women expressed greater satisfaction from their jobs than
secular women, with 63% of observant women saying they were satisfied with work
compared to 52% of secular women and 51% of women who considered themselves
traditional.

“In the past when I was
detained I had to have a policewoman come with me to the bathroom, but this was
something different.

This time they checked me naked, completely, without my
underwear. They dragged me on the floor 15 meters; my arms are bruised. They
put me in a cell without a bed, with three other prisoners, including a
prostitute and a car thief. They threw the food through a little window in the
door. I laid on the floor covered with my tallit.

“I’m a tough cookie, but I
was just so miserable. And for what? I was with the Hadassah women saying Sh’ma
Israel.”

The
leadership of Women of the Wall remain committed to their struggle to gain the
right of all women to pray at the Kotel, each according to her own custom, with
Torah, Tallit and voices raised in song. Violence, intimidation and threat will
not deter the group of women from joining together and praying together to
celebrate every new Jewish month at the Western Wall.

Given that
she struggled to be admitted to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and
was finally allowed to matriculate together with rabbinical students under the
condition that she never ask to be ordained, in all likelihood she would have
been at the Kotel, determined to find a way for women to pray there.

At the
very least, no doubt Anat Hoffman is correct when she says that the Women of
the Wall organization is more deserving of the prize than Bibi is.

The vision
of Henrietta Szold, whose unique brand of leadership encompassed the social
feminist movement of her day as well as an inclusive, diverse vision of Jewish
peoplehood, was much more akin to the work of Women of the Wall than to any
aspect of the current Israeli government’s leadership.

In any
case, the women’s Zionist organization should not be silent now regarding this
violation of the rights of women in Zion.

These events are
unacceptable and an affront to Jews worldwide who treasure Israel as a vibrant
democracy committed to the right of gender equality and religious
freedom." said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform
Judaism."Israeli
governmental leaders and law enforcement must ensure that the right of women to
pray at the Wall is protected and arrests such as those that occurred last
night are prevented from ever happening again."

The notion of the “big tent” took on a whole new meaning in the world of Orthodox
feminism this week as leading Orthodox women from Israel and North America
gathered in the Sukkah of Dr. Hannah Kehat, founding director of the Kolech
Religious Women’s Forum, to examine gender issues facing the Orthodox
communities around the world.
The meeting was the first of its kind in which
Orthodox feminist leaders from the two countries of Israel and the United
States met for the purpose of exploring their common agenda and toying with
ways to make Orthodox feminism a more cohesive international movement.
Participants left with an eager energy, earnestly anticipating next steps.

A member
of the Peruvian
B'nai Moshe community (also known as the "Inca Jews"), who
arrived in Israel a year and a half ago to care for her ailing father, is
sitting in jail awaiting deportation for having overstayed her tourist visa.

The
critical social bonds and memories of the experience function to foster
creativity and a sense of responsibility for the Jewish people both at home and
worldwide. And these young adults are the ones who will maintain the bridge
between Israel and the Diaspora in the years to come.